DC2 Comics Presents: "The Super Friends"

With a cover by Boris Mihajlovic

And edited by House Of Mystery

Soaring along the skyline of Metropolis,
Superman enjoyed the cool night breeze as it tugged at his cape. His powerful eyes scanned a multitude of layers to this great city, all the while his ears remained alert for the sounds of crisis. So far though, the Metropolis Marvel had found little to occupy his thoughts that night, as he dipped and swooped through the glass and steel canyons of his home.

Okay then, Clark, seems things are pretty quiet, so time to go over the to-do list, Superman thought as he took a lazy spiral up around the Collyer Building and picked up altitude near the center of the New Troy borough. The article on Councilor Sackett's campaign war chest and misappropriation of funds is due in on Friday, and the other report on Coates Chemical Company's expansion bid needs to have fact-checks on the zoning regulations. Somewhere in there, I have to make a list of potential hideaways in Metropolis where this Evil Factory can tuck away unseen, He paused and swept his x-ray vision across the nearby city block, and shook his head before zipping back on his route. Then there's the Society running around, and the League is trying to remind everyone that's up in arms over that there's still Injustice Unlimited out there. I have to get cracking on both of them. What else? What else?

His head pivoted when he heard a sirens in the distance. To the south of Metropolis, and he raced after the noises to investigate. Two police cars pursued a van on the main artery out of the city, and Superman focused his gaze on the pursued. Inside were three men, in simple gray coveralls, nothing remarkable about the garments, or the small case stashed in with the toolboxes and plumbing supplies used to camouflage their actual activities. He peered closer, into the small case to see a variety of chips and boards, with various corporate tags on each. Then he focused the mighty gaze on the criminals and had to repress the shudder from the sight.

“The Faceless Mob,” he muttered as he started to drop down to street level. That was the other thing I was forgetting. These guys. Where are they running to? He swept his vision over the entirety of the van, and noticed the gauges: odometer, the trip meter below it, the level of gas left in the vehicle and ran a number of possibilities through his head. “Gotham.” They've been busy down there too. I can track these guys back to their base and get to the bottom of this. And force me to have no excuse but to talk with him.

Superman dropped down between the two police cars, and gave a polite salute to each, and signaled to roll down their windows. “Officers, I'm hoping you'll be willing to let me track these guys back to wherever they're headed, and maybe put an end to this strangeness.”

The driver near to the hero took a moment to glance at him and then back to the road, and struggled with the idea. “I don't know...” he murmured.

“C'mon, Griff, we got what? Six of these guys lying in a prison hospital, no faces, no fingerprints, no signs of any identity at all, but the docs all swear they're alive, they're people,” the driver's partner said. “This is out of our hands. Even MCU don't know what to do with this, if Supes there has a chance, I say let him take it. It's Superman, for God's sake!”

“Okay, okay, we'll drop back, but try to check in with the brass, will ya?” Griff said.

“Of course,” Superman said with a firm nod. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He picked up speed and lifted back up into the air, once more focusing his vision on the people within.

Each had the same blank face as all the others in this new criminal gang. The exact numbers were hard to pin down: between strikes in Gotham City and Metropolis, and some other smaller towns in the area, the Faceless Mob had seen a dozen members captured, but reports indicated at least the same number had escaped with any number of electronics, hard drives, transmitters and receivers, and more. All of them with the same blank faces, not even like the Question's mask. Shadows there indicated where eyes should be, and gave a rounded mound where his nose pressed against the fake flesh. No, these people were smooth, like the faces were ground off altogether. No ears, eyes, nose, mouth, nothing. But they were alive, they were people; the most advanced medical devices confirmed what Superman's enhanced senses told him the first time he encountered them. They were people with no faces. No fingerprints or other identifiable traits. Even DNA strands had been made 'generic', an effect no medical doctor or scientist could wrap their heads around. When captured, they lay there on their beds like marionettes deprived of strings. That was the last agenda on Superman's list: get to the bottom of the Faceless Mob, but between multiple Toymen, Metallo's attack, the events that led to poor Edward's...

“Pay attention, Man of Steel,” Superman chided himself as he brought his focus back to the chase and pivoted over a highway sign at the last moment. He brought his arms to his side and slimmed his profile to a red and blue missile, followed the van out of his home and onto the long stretch of road that led to what many considered the polar opposite of the City of Tomorrow: Gotham. And after I wrap this up, you and I are going to have a talk, Bruce.


Elsewhere, on the quiet streets of Gotham City,
the Dark Knight Detective ignored the cool night air as he swooped down from the skies to land with only the slightest whisper of his cloak and crunch of gravel beneath his boots. In a fluid motion his hands gripped the parapet of the skyscraper and he brought himself to a stop, and gazed down on his true destination. His eyes were aided by the slim, deceptively powerful lenses in his cowl, while his ears remained alert to any other sounds of crisis or threat. A coded series of blinks were registered by the CPU at his brow, and the lenses magnified the building he stared at, piercing the layers below him as he took in the corporate headquarters of Wirecom Industries. It had taken a solid week of hard detective work, but he'd traced the Faceless Mob to this building, and the Gotham Guardian was ready to at last get to the bottom of this bizarre group and shut them down.

A flashlight? Batman focused on one office corner and watched as a figure in a dark suit picked carefully around the furniture. The person held a slim light in his or her fingers and brought it onto the desk's computer. A her, for sure, Batman mused as he watched more closely. A hood contained any indication of hair, but the dark bodysuit she wore helped to narrow the list of suspects down. Good figure, very good stealth, and a grip on electronic intrusion, the detective noted as he watched the woman get to work bypassing the codes. Chloe Sullivan is still in Smallville with her child, Chase hasn't re-entered my city, and Barbara would be in her costume... He focused closer and added to himself, ...and is taller by an inch. So Catwoman? What does she have to do with this?

He wasn't convinced it was her, but that was the best of the choices. Regardless, he prepared himself for whatever the eventuality, and shot out his grappling line and slid down to the sill of the window, his silhouette spread to maximum effect against the city's glow.

The woman spun around at the shadow of the Bat that filled her office. The Caped Crusader couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of intimidated response from his target. Within seconds, he'd accessed the window locks and landed in the room, crouched and ready for combat. It was Bruce Wayne that would prove to be unnerved at the last moment however.

“Batman,” the woman whispered with a smirk, as she leaned against the desk. “I guess I should have expected you to show up. Good to see you again.”

“Vicki?” Batman stood up, the cloak draped over his shoulders as the dull glow of his lenses helped to mask Bruce's shocked look. “Vicki Vale? Look at you, you're...you look great!”

“Thanks for noticing,” Vicki said with a grin. She tugged her hood down and shook out the red locks of hair for added effect. “So I guess this means it really is the great Bruce Wayne back to life. About time, buster!”

“What are you doing here?” Batman said as his voice returned to the gravel and steel that shook the hearts of the underworld.

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me? Death rattle that great deductive brain of yours, Batman?” Vicki shot back as she stood back up and turned her attention once more on the computer. “I've got a career as a photojournalist to revive now that I'm also back from the dead. Not that you cared.”

“I did,” Batman replied. “I do care. I made you as safe as possible, I put myself in debt to Aquaman to make sure you were safe, Vicki, and you could get better safely.”

“I know, and I do appreciate that,” Vicki answered. “No really, I do. I know what it means for you to turn to anyone for help, after all.”

“I work best alone,” Batman snapped back as he slipped what looked like a thumb drive out of his belt and pressed it into the side of the computer. “This will help your hacking, though I see your skills in that area have improved.”

“I had a lot of time to kill during rehab,” Vicki said as she saw the results of the codecracker and smiled. “Nice little toy, but you did always have the best, didn't you?” Soon, various files began to appear on the screen. “Even with Atlantean science helping out, it took work to get back on my feet after...Wrath,” she spat the word out and trembled a little. “Sharpened some job skills. And I call shenanigans on that whole 'working alone' biz.”

“Really?” As she played with the computer, Batman quietly examined the rest of the room. He made note of the name-plate on the door, Calvin Simons; he looked over the file cabinet, and the pictures; anything but look at the beautiful redhead at the desk.

“Yeah. Nightwing, Robin, Al...”A”, Gordon, the League,” she rattled off as she opened up another file and grinned happily. “Batwoman, Catwoman, heck, Blue Beetle and Question,” she added. “For a loner, you sure do have a lot of people around you. I thought I was one of them, but I spent months in Atlantis with not even a word from you.”

“A lot of people didn't hear from me,” Batman answered as he stepped up to the computer and looked over her shoulder. He blinked a series of commands and the nose guard of his cowl extended filters for his nostrils to block out the sweet vanilla scent of her hair.

“Oh, thank God I'm just one of the crowd, Bats,” she snapped a little louder than intended. “According to this, Effron Telecom has parts being custom-crafted here at Wirecom, and using plans contracted specifically from Wayne Electronics.” She looked up at the dark mask. “Not a word. This whole 'everyone else got shut out' garbage might work with your spandex buddies, but not with this lady, not anymore. Thank you very much for saving my life, and getting me safe and all that, but damn it, that's all you're getting out of me! You want more, you have to work damned hard to make up for it! And not in those pointy ears, either, believe you me, pal.”

Bruce fought down the grin that wanted to break the stoic mask of Batman. Vicki, you are definitely back a hundred percent, he thought as she gave a stark reminder of what he loved about her. “Let's keep our mind on business right now, Ms. Vale,” Batman replied as he looked at the papers. “This could be bigger than you think, than either of us thought.”

“Oh?” Vicki sighed as she heard him say Ms. Vale. He was completely the Bat now, and she knew what that meant. It was part of what made her love him, that dedication and focus. If only a bit of it would be spent on her, now. “Why do you say that?”

“These plans are dangerously close to systems used in the current League satellite relay,” he answered. He reached down to the small device he'd attached and pressed a small button. An electro-magnetic surge sliced through the computer and everything suddenly vanished.

“I hope he didn't have anything else important on that computer,” Vicki remarked as she stood up from the desk. “Like payroll records, Sarbanes-Oxley forms, government contracts...”

“Better safe then sorry,” Batman interrupted her as he dashed out of the office. Dammit, she's right, that was sloppy, Bruce. Damned sloppy. You're supposed to be doing better than that.

“Where are we going?” Vicki asked as she ran after him.

“Effron Telecom is on my list of suspects, both as perp and target, just like Wirecom,” Batman replied while they raced to the office location listed on the project files. “Either way, Faceless Mobsters are going to be here at some point, possibly tonight if the pattern I unraveled is correct, and I need to be in position to keep them away from those components! And what do you mean 'we'?”

“I'm coming back, and in a big way, and what bigger way then catching Batman busting the latest freak squad?” Vicki grinned back as she reached into her small pack and slipped out a digital camera.

Batman stopped at the door to the assembly area, and looked back at her, turning on his fiercest look. “You're staying out of trouble! There is no way I'm going through that hell again!”

Vicki stopped short and stared at him. There was no fear, just the opposite; her heart soared at the pain in his voice. “Okay...I'll hang back, you...you do your thing, Batman.”

The audio-sensors in Batman's earpieces caught a noise beyond the door. “Too late,” he growled and a roundhouse kick tore through the door as he threw his cloak up to maximize his presence.

Instead, he stared at the eight Faceless men in their gray coveralls, set in position behind machinery and counters and shelves, weapons pointed at him.


Meanwhile, in the Hall of Justice,
Nightwing walked through the corridors in his own costume. In the meeting room, he looked around and nodded with a smile. He slowly paced the room, let his hands run over each of the chairs, marked with the heraldry of each member. The proud S-shield, the golden eagle with wings spread, the scalloped bat, atomic symbol, proud lightning bolt over white, and more.

“Hola, Richard,” Wonder Woman said as she entered the room now, at her usual stately pace. “It seems rather nice to see Nightwing grace our halls.” She smiled at him and offered a hug. “Though between the costume and you calling this special meeting, I can guess what you have to say.”

“Yeah, you probably can, Diana,” Dick said with a coy grin.

“Well met, my friends,” Aquaman called out now as he arrived. He glanced at Nightwing and sighed. “I see. It's time for this discussion, is it?”

“Time for a discussion? What discussion?” Atom asked as he leaped out of a nearby comm unit and grew to normal size. “Heya, Nightwing, good to...oh. That discussion.” He shook Dick's hand heartily.

“Geez, I can't pull one over on any of you, can I?” Dick laughed as he then clasped hands with Aquaman.

“I am here,” Hawkman announced as he stepped into the room. “Hal and J'onn asked me to stand in for them in this, as they're both away on personal business, though they didn't really seem to say why.” He looked over at Dick and nodded to him. “Nightwing? Well this makes sense then, doesn't it?”

“Whatmakessensethen?” Flash asked in a rush of scarlet wind. “Sorry I'm late everyone. One of my chemical tests was being a bear to come out right, and it took longer than I...Nightwing? Oh man, I didn't realize it was going to be this talk.”

Dick let out a laugh now and leaned on against the table. “Wow, talk about taking the wind out of my sails. No Martian Manhunter, no Green Lantern, and so far, no Superman, who I was really hoping could be in on this meeting. But apparently, he's got a lead on those Faceless guys.”

Well, let's begin then, shall we?” Aquaman announced as he took his seat, and gaveled the meeting to order. “You have the emergency business, Nightwing, so speak up.”

“First, I want to say I've loved working with you guys, but I'm not Batman anymore, and I'm not leaving the Titans, so this is my official resignation from the group. Which is really rather strange, considering that Nightwing's never been a member.” He laughed, along with Atom, Flash and Wonder Woman.

“You've been a big help, Dick, and here's hoping you want to graduate to the big show someday,” Flash said. “Personally, I'd add pretty much all your group to ours, if you'd accept.”

“I do understand why you'd stay with the Titans, though,” Diana added with a smile. “Donna feels the same way when I talk to her.”

“The family aspect, yeah. We're growing up sidekicks, we're not a business group. League is great and all, but in some ways, it doesn't compete with the TT,” Dick answered. “But thanks for the great words, I'll be sure to tell the other Titans at our next get together.”

“You said first, though,” Hawkman brought up in his typical business-first voice. “What's second, as if we all don't know?”

“Yeah, that's second. Batman is back, the first, some might say the real, Batman,” Dick said in a rush of words. “Bruce. They guy that you all kicked out. But I think we've seen the League needs a Bat in the belfry, so we need to talk about him.”

“Well, start from the beginning then, Nightwing,” Aquaman said. “Such as, where Bruce has been all this time, and why he's remained hidden from us. Then, with all the facts in place, we can discuss how to proceed.”

“Well, okay,” Dick said. He took a deep breath and started, “It began, as you all know, with Batman and Ra's al Ghul dueling on Gotham Dam...”


Back in Gotham City,
Vicki Vale watched through the camera's digital screen as Batman stared down the eight barrels. As one, the Faceless criminals pulled on the triggers.

“Mind if I drop in?” The voice mixed in with the crash of the ceiling and the whoosh of wind as the Metropolis Marvel did indeed drop in between Batman and the guns. The bullets crashed uselessly against the sky-blue field stretched over his chest.

“Superman,” Batman growled. “Here in Gotham.”

The Man of Steel glanced briefly over his shoulder with a smile. “I know, I know, your territory, I'm not welcome, you had a way out of this, right?”

“Wrong. Good to have your help,” Batman replied in a slow voice, unused to such words. He threw a handful of pellets over Superman's shoulder, sprays of clouds filling the room around the blank-faced gunmen.

Batman's scalloped cloak tugged at him when a sudden rush of wind raced from and arrived back in front of him in less than a second, with the screech of twisting, tearing metal added to the events of the room. Superman dropped the pile of ruined firearms on the floor. “I can take it from here,” Batman said as he leaped out into the fog-shrouded room.

“I tracked some of the Faceless Mob down here from a job up in Metropolis,” Superman explained as he watched with x-ray vision as the Dark Knight Detective tore through the criminals. “Oh, and pardon my manners, Ms. Vale, it's good to see you up and about.”

“Thanks, Superman,” Vicki said with a smile. “You said something about tracking these guys back from Metropolis?” She looked around now, carefully inspecting her surroundings.

“Only seven in there,” Bruce grumbled as he stalked back out of the dissipating cloud. “One of them must have made a run for it.” He looked at Vicki as she peered around in between taking pictures of Superman, and careful to avoid taking a clear shot of the Bat. “It's still your exclusive, Vicki.”

“Huh?” Superman looked back to Bruce, then smiled. With a laugh, he turned back to Vicki and nodded. “Yes, Ms. Vale. Lois isn't here, this one is all yours.”

Vicki looked excitedly at the two heroes. “Great! So, what now? There's one missing, do you think he grabbed the components? What about the ones you tracked back here, Superman?”

“Good point,” Batman said. “There may have been an ambush, but the actual goal is still in play.”

“They came by van,” Superman said as he focused his gaze out past the building they were in. “I see them, about three blocks away. You still have your tracer on me?

“Of course.”

“Then I'll see you at the finish line,” Superman said and streaked up through the hole he'd created.

“Go file your report, Ms. Vale,” Batman said as he stormed away from the area, and sent a summons for the Batwing. “We'll talk more when this is done.”

“Oh no we won't!” Vicki said as she ran after him. She leaped up and grabbed him around the waist as Batman took hold of the hoist lowered through Superman's entrance and lifted up into his aircraft. “You're not ducking out on me like this, and I'm not missing this story for anything!”

The sleek, stealth ship raced over the Gotham skyline as Batman's sensor array showed the S-shield blip that tracked the Man of Steel. “Don't get in our way.”

“Do we have to go through that again?” Vicki shot back as she double-checked her camera, the shots taken already, the settings she'd probably need for more.

Batman went silent as he guided the craft to its destination. It was a new construction, near where the river poured out into Gotham Harbor. “Effron Telecom after all,” he muttered as he eased the controls and soon hovered over the building. “At least he leaves an easy trail to follow.” Batman dropped down from the hull of his craft, cloak fluttering at first in the wind, spreading and stiffened out and allowed him to glide the rest of the way down, as Vicki followed on the cable ladder.

Batman dropped through the hole in the roof, a flick of his wrists restoring the fluid feel of his mantle. A pair of blinks dropped the tinted infra-vision lenses as he gazed around. As always, the solar-charged Man of Steel blazed like a beacon and Batman dashed after him.

Superman had followed the van into the heart of the Effron building in the most direct route, the torn ceilings and floors in his wake being the trail Batman followed. But Superman had crashed into the bowels of the building and confronted the Faceless driver as several more of the strange mobsters appeared from entrances. They scurried to grab the stolen components as the driver and one other faced off with the Man of Steel.

“Can you people even hear me in there? What are you? Who did this to you? Is this your choice?” Superman asked as he stepped up slow and calm. When no answers came, he shook his head in pity. “Okay then, we do this the hard way.” He threw a lazy punch at the driver, careful to judge the amount of speed and strength needed for the apparently normal humans these strange criminals appeared to be.

Instead, the driver caught the arm and stopped it in mid-swing. Superman stared in shock at his arm and then cried out in pain as his felt his muscles ripple under the strange grip. He pulled his arm away and stepped back. He took a moment to look at his forearm and saw bruises crawl up his skin.

“Mind if I drop in?” Batman asked as he swung down and planted his boots into the driver's nonexistent face. He bounced back and landed a backflip into a protective stance as he took a moment to glance at his partner. “Everything okay, Superman?”

“Magic, whoever's behind this is a magician,” Superman grumbled as he shook his arm to restore circulation. He released a stream of heat from his eyes and slashed at the floor under the other criminal and sent him stumbling down to the sub-basement. “And did you crack a joke just now? Throwing my words back at me?”

Batman gave a terse smile at the question. “Tell me how you handle it?”

“Handle what? A sense of humor?”

“No, a reporter following you around everywhere?”

It was Superman's turn to snicker as he focused his senses on the building. “What did they take from that other place?”

“Relay systems similar to the ones used in the new League communications satellite,” Batman answered. “For what purpose though?”

“We'll find out now,” Superman said as he suddenly short forward, tearing through walls to the target he could see, with Batman as close behind as possible.

“Hello? Normal person chasing after gods here,” Vicki called out after the two heroes as she finally dropped down to the garage in time to see the new path opened up by the Metropolis Marvel. She sighed and shook her head. “How does Lane put up with this guy?” she muttered and once more began her pursuit.

Superman crashed through the last barrier and came to a landing in the center of a combination communications center and throne room. At the far end was an ugly mound of humanoid flesh staring out from under a heavy purple robe and hood. “Welcome, Kryptonian. You are the final piece of the puzzle now that the relays are in place.”

“Not yet they aren't!” Superman declared and fired more of his potent heat vision at the components being carried by the Faceless Mobsters. However, the air shimmered and sizzled a foot away from them as his attack was blocked.

“Oh no, no, no, that won't do, Superman,” the strange figure said as he shifted under the thick cloth. “I don't need them attached. This room is all for show, the only connections that need to be made is through my slaves. As long as they are mine, they are my connections.” He laughed as the minions started to glow softly, and the entire room began to hum.

“And what is it you're hoping to accomplish?” Superman asked as he hurled himself into the defensive screen protecting the sorcerer's side of the room.

“I need your League communicator,” he answered as Superman streaked past the suddenly absent barrier and found himself caught in the energy flowing through the two criminals. “With the communicator, I can project my power to your beautiful League computers and then to that marvelous satellite, and then...”

“Then?” Batman snarled as he raced into the room, leaped forward and used Superman's paralyzed form as a springboard to reach the strange magician. The tall throne of heavy gold slammed into the Dark Knight's head and arms as the hero tackled through the illusion.

“Then, Effron the Sorcerer spreads his power across the globe. Billions of slaves to make, billions of faces to take,” he cackled as the illusion crackled around the stunned detective as his eyes lit up and beams of mental force projected into Superman's communicator.


In seconds, the powerful rays streak across the globe and penetrate the Justice League computers,
spreading throughout their headquarters as the unsuspecting heroes discussed the return of Bruce Wayne.

“If it needs to be the case, I'll remain the lone objector to just letting him back onto the team,” Hawkman declared with his hands pressed own against the table for emphasis. “There was a reason we expelled him, and that hasn't changed!”

“You can say it hasn't changed, but you haven't been dealing with Bruce since his return,” Nightwing countered without hesitation. “I know him better than anyone here. There's maybe two people on the planet I'll let get away with saying they know him better. One of them raised him, and is one of the most rational men on the planet, and the other is Superman. You aren't either of them.”

“Calm down, gentlemen,” Wonder Woman interjected. “You're not alone in you concerns, Katar. But we have Nightwing's evidence to take into consideration.”

Atom leaned in next to Flash and whispered, “You can see why Hawk and Arrow never got along. Has nothing to do with philosophy, does it?”

“Nope. They're both hot under the collar. Oh, and you realize we're never going to hear the end of it from Ollie when he finally comes back from wherever and learns Bruce is back, right?” Flash winked and the two men chuckled, drawing the attentions of the rest of the group.

“What? This whole thing is silly. Bruce messed up, according to us. So what? Who hasn't?” Atom replied. “Diana, you, and Dick are two of his closest friends, especially in the white hat set. If you two are willing to believe in him, I see no reason for the rest of us not to. I say we get Big Blue's input on this, and if it's unanimous between you three, we just get over this.” He looked over at Katar and shrugged. “Sorry, buddy, but I can't support you on this. We're not the Hawk Knights, or any other military or pseudo-military group. We're colleagues. We stand by each other, or the bad guys eat us alive.”

Dick grinned as Wonder Woman and Aquaman clapped softly, all five heroes gathered together looking shocked at the Atom. “What?”

“You're not usually one given for speeches, Ray,” Aquaman said with approval. “This must really mean something to you.”

“I have to agree,” Hawkman added with a nod. “Such an impassioned plea, and you're usually so...restrained...” The sharp eyes of Katar Hol noticed the way Flash started to tremble at incredible speeds. “Flash?”

“Something's happening,” Barry Allen replied as he felt a strange vibration coursing through the League's headquarters. He darted his head in all directions, trying to pin it down as Effron's magic began to filter through the monitors and out into the atmosphere. He noticed how his team-mates slowed, how their faces began to melt away. They slowly sank down into their skulls, and Flash could feel the effect on his own body. “Nobody messes with a man in control of his body's vibrational rate,” he muttered to no one in particular as he stood up in less than an eyeblink, his body a scarlet blue as he struggled against the mysterious attack.

In another blink of the eye, he was at the communication 'womb' of the sprawling base, and read reports and sensed the powerful attack around him. Nearly in total control of the League's computers, aligning them for the satellite, have to stop it, how, where is the attack from? Superman's communicator, that's my key, it's not in this world anymore, but that's okay, I can do this, I can, I'm sure I can, oh wow, this is gonna really take it out of me.

As the thoughts raced through his mind, he had already recovered components from his cosmic treadmill and attached them to the cardinal points of the complex. Then, he channeled his vibrational rate through the wires, into those components, spread it out onto the structures around him. With all his might, he vibrated himself faster and faster, spreading more and more of it farther out, and matched it to the magical attack. He strained his muscles, sweat slipped down his temples, over the back of his neck, and then the red blur engulfed the Hall of Justice and slipped it across the dimensional barriers.

He collapsed to his knees as the journey ended, but he couldn't stop. Not as he saw his team-mates slowly rise from their seats and make their way toward him, eerie blank skin sightlessly staring at him. He leaped with his remaining speed and spun around Wonder Woman. “Wake up, Diana!” he cried out in desperation as the golden rope he'd twisted about her arm glowed brighter.

“Wh-- what...happened?” Wonder Woman said slowly as her eyes blinked back into existence and her mouth opened up to speak. “Flash? What's...”

“The others, Wonder Woman! Quick!” Flash pointed to the remaining four. Without a pause, Wonder Woman unwound her lasso and grabbed up the other four.

“Someone want to explain what's going on?” Dick asked as he rubbed his forehead and shook off the pain from the rapid transformations.

“Yeah sure,” Flash said. “Someone called Effron the Sorcerer is trying to beam his enslavement spell across the globe using our satellite, as the best defended and most secure transmission source. He snatched Superman's communicator for the job, probably because Superman's vulnerable to magic. This spell steals a person's whole identity and gives it to Effron, giving him tremendous energy and making faceless slaves of its victims.”

Now the Flash noticed the rest of the team staring at him as he hurriedly tried to explain. “I don't know, all that info was beamed over with the spell. I don't know why Effron put that all in there. There's even the fact that he's got his own special tower here in his realm that enhances the spell, makes it able to cross the dimensions.”

Nightwing smiled now and shook his head. “Superman and Batman, of course. They might be captured, from the sounds of it, but if Effron is using Superman's communicator, sure as shooting one or both of them figured out how to transmit the extra information to us, figuring someone in the League would make use of it.”

“Okay, we know who, how and why. Next question is what? As in what do we do?” Hawkman said as he unhooked his mace from his belt.

“Flash, you and Hawkman dismantle this tower,” Aquaman said immediately in response. “Nighting, Atom, as our stealth experts, get into Effron's base and free Superman and Batman. Wonder Woman, as rulers and leaders, I think it's up to us to rouse the people against tyranny. Any questions?” The five determined smiles that met the Sea King's gaze made his chest swell with pride. “Let's get to it then!”


As the heroes charged out on their missions, Effron watched from his throne room
and roared in anger, discolored flesh undulating in response to his fury. He stood, and stormed down the small dais, the purple robe swept by his passage.

“How did this happen?” Effron the Sorcerer roared in voice composed of several other, dissonant voices. He gazed up into the large sheet of crystal that showed him the area of his kingdom that now housed the Hall of Justice, and watched the three pairs of heroes invade his home. He spun, his body twisting about at different speeds as he did so and stared at the two heroes that hung attached to the far wall of his chamber. “How did you do this? How do they know what to do? They must know, it is clear they have a plan, and they couldn't have a plan if they did not know what to do, so how do they know?” He stormed across the hall and stared up at the two men. “For that fact, how do they still have faces?”

Superman glanced down, his face pale, but eyes still defiant. “Use all the magic you like to drain my strength away, there's nothing I'm telling you, so just sit there and get ready to face the consequences of crossing the Justice League.”

Batman relaxed in his own bonds. “You know, if you didn't project all that power outward, you could have cast it on us, and then you wouldn't have to ask.”

Effron narrowed his piggish black eyes under that heavy brow speckled in discolored patches of skin he'd stolen and his fat lips curled up into a sneer. “Oh, nice try! I see now why everyone respects your brain, Batman. Make me stop my spell, and give your League all that much more time to stop me! Not when I can torture it out of you!” He snapped the fat fingers and backed away as several faceless minions stepped forward. They pushed a cart filled with a number of instruments, each of which brought a different smile of joy to Effron.

“You aren't serious?” Batman said with a near laugh that made Superman glance over at his long-time colleague. “If you're familiar with me, then you have to know that won't work.”

“Of course not. You're conditioned to resist the pain you put your body through. And what pain could I inflict that you've not put yourself through?” Effron rubbed his numerous fingers together in glee. “Superman, however, spends his life invulnerable. There's not a chance in the world he's conditioned to the pain my interrogators can inflict. And even if I'm wrong, are you conditioned enough to ignore your friend's pain? And for how long?” He laughed a chorus of laughs as the two men looked down at the multifarious instruments, and then back at each other. “Unless one of you wishes to tell me how you got that information out to your team-mates?”

“Sorry, Superman.”

“It's okay, Batman. The League is coming.”

Those eyes narrowed again and stared at the two defiant heroes, the wicked grin still in place though, all attention focused on his prisoners.

And completely missing the red-headed photojournalist who now slipped out of the throne room with a cartridge from Batman's utility belt. Safely around several corners, Vicki Vale flipped open the top and pressed the button underneath.


And as Vicki Vale continues to aid the World's Finest Team below, above the castle we find the Feathered Fury and the Scarlet Speedster, as they raced for the tower transmitting Effron's powerful enslavement spell. Hawkman held Flash in his hands as they soared through the skies, and Flash then pointed to the hill just past the palace.

“Some tower,” Flash grumbled as Hawkman dipped low and let his team-mate find solid footing on the ground. “That's a twenty foot tall stone giant! That's cheating!”

Hawkman snorted in reply and lifted back up into the sky. “And how many of our enemies have played by any known rules, Flash?”

“Stop making sense, buddy!” Barry said and zoomed up the hillside to reach the giant's feet.

Hawkman swooped up over its head and caught its attentions. Pale yellow beams emanated from huge hollows for eyes, but Hawkman nimbly skirted around them. “The spell?”

“Yeah, it's got the same frequency feel,” Flash confirmed as he raced around its feet now at tremendous speed, trying to erode the stone. “I'mnothavingmuchluckwiththismodeofattack!” A foot slid forward and Flash narrowly leaped over the arch in time to keep from crashing, though he stumbled on the other side and rolled away.

“My mace doesn't do much more!” Hawkman declared as he smacked his powerful weapon at several locations. “Fortunately, it moves about as fast as a twenty foot tall stone giant should!” He artfully ducked around one swiping hand.

“What do we do? We have to stop it fast. I moved the base here, but that's only a delaying tactic. Eventually it'll connect to the satellite and then the human race goes faceless, and who knows how buff Effron gets in response.” Flash rolled quickly to one side to avoid a stamp of the giant's foot, and again tried to unleash a super-fast assault on the rock toes.

“Hmm...I wonder...” Hawkman mused as he watched Flash's attack. He soared up into the sky, and said, “Flash, try that attack again. All you have!”

Flash's hands were sore, but he shrugged his scarlet shoulders and zoomed around the foot. He attempted to pull stone away by suction, but direct assault, tried to make it stumble by carving out rock from under it, but pain and failure finally made him dive to one side to avoid a counterattack. “Well?”

“I did see what I saw,” Hawkman confirmed as he answered his friend. “Hawkgirl was talking to Wonder Woman about some of her people's stories once, and she mentioned something very similar to this.” He dropped down to talk to Flash directly. “The hill is artificial. It's part of the giant. It is affected by our attacks, it's just pulling stone up from the hill to repair the damage.”

“Well then, that's something we can handle,” Flash said with a grin, as he rubbed his calves. The two heroes looked at each other and nodded, then went their separate ways.

Hawkman put away his mace, cracked his knuckles under the gauntlets and then streaked up toward the giant's back. He grit his teeth and with all his Nth metal-enhanced strength, jammed his fists into the creature's rocky body. He grunted in pain as he strained with all his might to fly upward.

Flash, meanwhile raced to the bottom of the hill, and began to tear it apart, feet and hands ripping into the material, cyclonic winds pulled slowly at it. The beast struggled to stop the assault, but the peak of the hill was slowly pulled away from the soles of its feet, and with a final earthquake-like roar, it crumbled to pieces around Hawkman's battered hands and crashed around the fastest man alive.

“That's what I call a job well done,” Flash said as dust and debris slowly settled over the area. He raised up his hand and added, “High five!”

Hawkman landed and stared at the Flash incredulously. Flash started to explain the custom, but then noticed the ruined gloves and bleeding hands. “Oh. We'll save it for later.”


Meanwhile, within the palace, Effron watched on his crystal as the Queen of the Amazons and the King of Atlantis calmly strode into the village square,
side by side and stoic faces observing the reaction to their presence by the blank, ensorcelled populace. They instantly gained attention from the faceless slaves, who stopped in their daily activities and turned in their direction.

“What can they hope to achieve?” he growled angrily, part screech and part throaty rumble as his rolls of flesh and flaps of skin wriggled in agitation. He glanced back at the bruised and tattered Superman, and the snarling Batman. “Well? Tell me!”

“They know how to do what you don't,” Superman replied with a fatigued grin.

“They know how to stir the heart, and lead,” Batman added.

“Foolish talk!” Effron snapped and stared back at the screen.

“Listen to our words, people of the land,” Aquaman said in a voice that could ripple the oceans.

“You are enslaved by a tyrant, by an oppressor who steals your very selves, but no one person can demand such brutal service and not spark embers of freedom as well,” Wonder Woman continued as she looked in a different direction, her voice clear and firm.

“Even monarchs must remember that it is the people that allow the authority to rule, in return for peace and security, health and prosperity,” Aquaman picked up, his eyes staring in the other direction now.

The villagers had encircled the two heroes now, and they stood back to back, but in peace, hands out stretched, voices steady, their stances relaxed.

“My spell is absolute, mere words can't shake it,” Effron insisted and he heard Superman snicker. “What? What do you know?”

The villagers drew closer; tools in their hands, the circle tight, no space between them as they menaced the two royals.

“You know in your hearts that your minds are truly your own,” Wonder Woman said with a regal smile.

“Your spirits yearn to shake off the chains of your oppressor,” Aquaman added without missing a beat in their rhythm. “Just listen to yourselves, deep within yourselves.”

“Listen, and reclaim the truth of your minds,” Wonder Woman stated. Her face enlarged on the gazing crystal and Effron's eyes narrowed and focused. “They're not using words! They're cheating!” he declared and stamped his foot.

“You mean Aquaman's telepathy echoing off of the psycho-sensitive jewel in Wonder Woman's tiara?”

“Yes, that's what I-” The piggish eyes widened in horror at the unfamiliar voice. He twisted around and saw the Atom enlarging through the crystal bonds holding Superman in place, as Nightwing pulled out a laser torch and sliced through Batman's bonds. “How did you two get in here? My sliding labyrinth? My ever-shifting corridors? How?”

“The homing tracer in Batman's utility belt,” Nightwing answered as he held up his matching cartridge, and grinned.

“You had no time to activate it! You didn't, I know you didn't!” Effron snarled and stamped his foot again.

“But I did,” Vicki said from the doorway of the chamber, and held up the one she'd slipped from Batman's belt.

“You're...you're not even a...you don't even...count...who...are you?” he spat in fury, as he felt the robes grow loose, and heavy over his frame. “I'm dwindling?” He looked now at the villagers as their faces slowly reappeared due to the efforts of Aquaman and Wonder Woman. “Noooooo!”

“Yes,” Superman said as he put a hand on Effron's now-gaunt shoulder and turned him back to face the World's Finest Team, and their allies. “First, let's even the odds for the revolt out there.” Superman's eyes turned red and his heat vision neatly sliced through the viewing screen and cutting Effron off from the villagers now roused to rebellion.

Batman, Nightwing, and Atom moved throughout the throne room and used their powers and gadgets to make short work of the devices magical and technological, as the minions within his very castle now started to regain their faces, as Effron's concentration evaporated like a soap bubble.

“I think it's time we left Effron to his own people now,” Superman said as he tossed the sorcerer toward the re-faced former servants, who glared at the man and quickly seized hold of him. “We should get back to the Hall of Justice, and head home. Would you like a lift, Ms. Vale?” He picked up Vicki in his arms and flew ahead.

Vicki felt the powerful arms holding her safe and glanced back to blow Bruce a kiss. So this is how she puts up with him, she silently laughed.

Batman stared for a few minutes and Nightwing just shook his head and darted after the Man of Steel; Atom jumped up onto Batman's shoulder and shrugged. “Why do you think I married Jean before she got to meet the Big Blue Boy Scout?” he teased the Dark Knight.


Soon, our heroes had reached the Hall of Justice,
in time for the vibrations to wear away and restore the complex to Earth.

“Wow, so this is the new digs,” Vicki said as she looked around the place. “Impressive. I have to say, impressive.”

“No pictures, Ms. Vale,” Aquaman warned her. “We've had enough security breaches. And if you'd wait out here, while we finish our meeting, and then we'll send you back home to Gotham.”

“Fine. But make it quick, please. I'm fighting a deadline here.”

Aquaman entered the meeting room, and made sure the door slid into place, as Bruce stood to one side and looked over the group of heroes.

“Well, it's all down to your opinion now, Clark,” Diana said. “We've all had our say, but as Dick pointed out earlier, you've worked with Bruce longer than any of us.”

“Bruce, are you going to abide by our decision?” Aquaman asked as he took his seat again. “You weren't around when we tried to expel Batman from our ranks for what happened in Gotham, in the days leading up to your...'death'.”

“Tried to?” Bruce asked with a smirk.

“Turns out, Dick here listens to us about as well as you do,” Hawkman said as he leaned back in his chair and folded his arms over his chest.

Bruce looked at Dick and gave an approving nod. “I made some tactical errors. I wasn't in the best frame of mind between Ra's al Ghul's attack and Joker's...rampage. I've thought over everything that happened: every person, building, car, window, brick. All of it, as I dismantled the League of Assassins, I thought about it all.”

The group turned to Superman now, who stood at the opposite side of the room from the Bat. “Bruce relied on us to stop Effron. He relied on Ms. Vale to get word to you here, and then relied on Nightwing to help free him.” He walked up to Batman and held his hand out. “It was an honor to work with him on this case.”

Batman stared back into Superman's eyes, and took the handshake firmly. “It felt good, Kal.”

Dick grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well then, I tender my resignation to the League, knowing you guys aren't short-handed.” He clapped his hand on Batman's shoulder as the rest of the League slowly gathered around Batman as well, to welcome their comrade back to the ranks.

“You have only one mission left, Bruce,” Superman said with a glint in his eyes. “I believe Vicki's waiting for you to fly her home. You thought we were tough on you.”

Batman marched off to the door as the others began to chuckle.